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James P. Graham

Chairman of the Board

James P. Graham, a Dallas business and civic leader, led the investment group that purchased Schick Shadel Hospital in 2002.

Chairman, president and owner of Palo Petroleum, Inc., an oil and gas exploration firm in Dallas, and president of Dallas Natural Gas Company, an oil and gas investment company, Graham has worked for Hunt Oil Company, Conoco and Cenard Oil & Gas. He was managing partner of Black Diamond Methane, LLC, a joint venture with Boeing and Texaco which explored for clean burning coalbed methane reserves in the Puget Sound Area in 1993.

Graham was president and managing general partner of the Dallas Sidekicks professional indoor soccer team in 1986-1987, former managing partner of Graham-Lawrence Petroleum and a former director of Grand Bank - Woodall Rogers (now Comerica, NA) and Union Bank - Dallas (now Compass Bank, NA). He also was an advisory director for the Dallas Grand Prix Auto Race.

As an active civic leader and volunteer, Graham served as president, committee chair and member of the Dallas Park and Recreation Board; co-founded the City of Dallas's "Send a Kid to Camp" program; served as the city's negotiator for the re-negotiation of an entertainment venue contract; chaired the Bid Committee, co-chaired the Host Committee and co-chaired the Security Task Force for World Cup Dallas 1994; chaired the White Rock Lake Master Plan Development Committee; chaired the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation 65 Roses Gala; chaired the Advisory Board of CitiBeat, Inc., an inner-city youth soccer program; and was a director for the Dallas 2012 Olympic Bid Committee.

He currently serves on the steering committee for "Jesuit in the New Millennium" and is the immediate past-president of Friends of Fair Park in Dallas.

Born in Tyler, Texas, Graham graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in petroleum land management and finance and earned an M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He lives in Dallas with his wife Pamela. They have two grown sons and three bulldogs.

Richard St. Peter

Chief Executive Officer

Richard St. Peter is a graduate of the Schick Shadel program, a member of the investment group that owns Schick Shadel Hospital and the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer since March of 2007.

Previous to his work with SSH, St. Peter was a financial executive for a number of companies including, Alpha Beta Supermarkets, Thriftmart, WR Grace Homecenters, Stør, Petco, PurchasePro.com and Wild Oats.

St. Peter was a 1st Lieutenant US Army Ranger serving in Vietnam.  He graduated from Lassen Community College, received his B.S. in Business Management from California State University at Long Beach (Magna Cum Laude) and has a MBA from the University of Southern California.

St. Peter, two of his children, two nephews and many of his friends are graduates of the Schick Shadel program.

Dr. Ralph L. Elkins

Research Director

Dr. Ralph L. Elkins, the Research Director at Schick Shadel Hospital, was born in Walterboro, South Carolina. Dr. Elkins received his B.S. in Science and Literature and his M.S. in Experimental Psychology from Auburn University and then completed a Ph.D. in Biopsychology from the University of Georgia, where he graduated with distinction. Dr. Elkins was also inducted into the University of Georgia chapters of Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, and Sigma Xi Honor Societies.

Dr. Elkins was a Research Psychologist at the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center in Augusta, Georgia, from 1970 until his retirement in 2008. During the past five years Dr. Elkins has served as an Addiction Therapist at the VA Medical Center. He also held faculty appointments in the Medical College of Georgia Department of Psychiatry from 1973 until his recent retirement. He served as a funded visiting scientist at the Max Plank Institute for Psychiatry in Munich, Germany, and as a part time faculty member at Augusta State University, Augusta, Georgia.

Dr. Elkins is a recognized leader in the field of aversion therapy and conditioned response. Dr. Elkins participated as a Research Psychologist and Coordinator of Research as well as conducting psychology research in conjunction with the VA Medical Center and the medical College of Georgia in Augusta. He also served as a funded principal investigator on NIDA and NIAAA grants as well as on VA Merit Review Awards.

Dr. Elkins has authored and co-authored numerous publications in national and international medical journals as well as lecturing and presenting at many national and international scientific meetings.

Ron Merchant, MD., FRCS, MPH

Medical Director

Since 1983, he has practiced Urgent Care and Addiction Medicine in various hospitals and addiction treatment centers with privileges in various locations in the Puget Sound area.  Dr. Ron Merchant is a member of the King County Medical Society and Peer Review Organization, Seattle and is a Peer-Review Addiction Medicine Consultant for Qualis-Health, Seattle.

Jerome F. Walters

Director of Counseling

Jerome F. Walters, who holds a graduate degree from Harvard University and an undergraduate degree from the University of Washington, is the director of counseling at Schick Shadel Hospital. He holds Addiction Counseling credentials from the State of Washington, the National Association Addiction and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC), the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, the Department of Medicine and Surgery of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. In addition to his active membership on the board of the Washington State addiction counseling organization, Jerome is a Board Certified Pastoral Counselor, a federal disaster relief team counselor and a member of the American Public Health Association. He was a federal Fellow at the U.S. Center for Excellence in Substance Abuse Treatment and Education before joining Schick Shadel Hospital. His counseling experience includes inpatient and outpatient treatment modalities in a variety of settings.

Olga Somera Patulot

Director of Nursing

Starting as a charge nurse in 1990, Olga became the director of nursing at Schick Shadel in 1997, in charge of managing, directing and supervising the nursing department, laboratory, pharmacy, dietary, medical records, and staff education. Olga conducts in-service training and quality care assessments, develops policies and procedures, and plans, develops and implements budgets. She also serves as the hospital's spokesperson on nursing matters and collaborates with other departments/agencies to improve patient care.

Prior to joining Schick Shadel Hospital, Olga worked as a charge and staff nurse at Sister of Providence Long Term Care, West Seattle General Hospital and Columbus Cabrine. She graduated from Centro University, Manila, Philippines, with a bachelor's degree in nursing in 1978. She is a member of the Washington State Nursing Association.

When she's not busy doing anything else, Olga loves serving with her husband in the music ministry of her church as a choir member. They're prominent members of the Philippine American business and political communities. She enjoys traveling and shopping every chance she gets.

Elaine Oksendahl

Hospital Administrator

Elaine Oksendahl was previously Associate Administrator of Schick Shadel Hospital. She joined the Schick Shadel staff in 1987 as administrative assistant to the CEO and Chief of Staff. She received multiple promotions with ever-increasing duties and responsibilities due to her administrative ability and desire to learn all aspects of hospital operations. During the 18 years that she has been employed at Schick, she has served as Human Resource Director, Performance Improvement Coordinator, JCAHO/DOL Survey Coordinator, Privacy Officer/Compliance Officer and Associate Administrator.

Prior to working at Schick, Oksendahl worked in several administrative positions in manufacturing, education, criminal justice and owned a family business.

Oksendahl was raised in western Montana as a small town minister's daughter. She credits her upbringing with the deep compassion she feels for people who suffer from addiction. She still loves the slow pace of rural America and commutes daily across the Puget Sound by ferry. She lives on the Kitsap Peninsula with her husband and son, a parrot, an elderly cat and a loveable dog. In her spare time, she enjoys do-it-yourself home projects, gardening, reading, traveling and cooking for friends.

Scott Miller

Vice President / Chief Financial Officer

Scott has spent his 23-year professional career in various accounting and finance positions. He spent 13 years with an international public accounting firm specializing in various industries including gaming, high technology and cable television. After leaving public accounting he has been the CFO and/or Controller for two separate construction-related companies, an internet company, a monorail company, and a technology development company.

Scott grew up in Denver, Colorado and after nine years in Denver following graduation from Brigham Young University, he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. He and his wife are the parents of three daughters. Over the years he has spent most of his free time raising his daughters and traveling to soccer tournaments. He has coached little league baseball and youth soccer.

Jerry O'Day

Vice President of Marketing
President of the Alumni Association

Jerry O'Day joined Schick Shadel Hospital as the Outreach/Business Development Manager in 2004. O'Day has been a successful marketer for nearly 25 years. Prior to joining Schick Shadel, he worked in the retail jewelry business as an owner/operator of a high-end jewelry store and for other jewelry retailers for a number of years. O'Day has held many marketing and public relations positions throughout his career, including promotions and sales management for radio stations in Seattle and Honolulu.

He attended Washington State University and is a Tom Hopkins Xerox Sales Champion. Jerry is a graduate of the "Schick Program."

Gary Wang

Director of Hospital Operations

Gary Wang has worked in the Mortgage Banking industry for 15 years before joining Schick Shadel.  He has worked with various governmental and large financial houses through out his career.  At his last position, Gary was the senior trader for the Largest Bank in the Northwest Region of the United States. He ran the agency trading desk and established guidelines for Trading Mortgage Backed Securities 

Gary grew up in Africa, and at the age of seven relocated to southern California.  He attained his BS in Finance and eventually a MBA from the California State University, Northridge.  Gary and his wife have two daughters and enjoy spending time growing orchids and playing golf.